Comic-Con 2011 kicks off with Preview Night (photos)

North America's largest comic book convention returns, and CNET editor Seth Rosenblatt provides a glimpse into Preview Night, originally for comics industry but now expanded to include some fans as well.

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Batman, angry and large

North America's largest comic book convention starts in San Diego, and CNET editor Seth Rosenblatt showed up yesterday to provide a glimpse into Preview Night--originally for people working in the comics industry but now expanded to include some fans as well.

Here, an enormous screenprint of Batman from the upcoming Arkham City game hangs above the DC Comics booth.

Leggo my Lego

Iron Man and Thor

Nine-year-old Mason Scott dePedro, costumed as Thor, stands in awe in front of the Marvel Comics booth, which has been designed to resemble Shield. His brother, six-year-old Lucas Walker dePedro, is dressed as Iron Man carrying Captain America's shield.

Spartacus!

Pop culture that's not actually a comic has been a growing part of Comic-Con, and Spartacus is just another example of Hollywood studios attempting to capture some of the comics geek's passion. Along with Hollywood studios comes Hollywood money, and elaborate booth sets like this one to prove it.

Star Wars graffmobile

Popular comics artist Ken Lashley has been hired by Lucasfilm and BMW to illustrate key Star Wars scenes and characters on a car. Although there was no official confirmation, it's likely that the car will be given away during the convention.

Graffmobile up close

Digital drawing with Sketchbook

A charity promotion with Viz Media and Autodesk has them recruiting artists with a digital hook to raise money for Japanese tsunami relief. Here, Kyle Runciman of Autodesk shows how the desktop version of the program works with a Wacom Cintiq.

Walking Dead re-enactment set

Fans of the Walking Dead show and comic can re-create the gory scene where one character has to cut off his own hand to escape the zombies. In this photo, brothers Brandon Munoz, 14, and Michael Munoz, 13, pretend to struggle with the handcuffs and hacksaw. While Brandon is a comics fan and into manga, Michael told me that he doesn't read comics, showing that there's a lot to be said for well-made adaptations from any medium.